Air-line oiler



May 28, 1935. J- Buss 2,003,132

AIR LINE OILER Filed March 24, 1934 E.; FW' T 17 1% I 51,91@ if A l s 15* j'gg I 'Vl 6 |ln/ I" jf'zz ym( |I|I 13 y \1 10 /lllll IHM 'HIM' I l 1% I/zvenf'V HW 5j] 15 MMM' VL'IIHIL, Wl/Wf Patented May 28, 1935 John Bliss, London, England, assignor to C. C. v

Wakefield & Company Limited, London, England, a British company i Application March 24,

1934, serial No. 717,256

In Great Britain April 7,- 1933 15 Claims.

This invention consists in improvements in or relating to air-line oilers for rock-drills and other tools or apparatus in which live air, that is air under pressure, is supplied to the tool for driving it. It is desirable in order to lubricate the internal mechanism of the tool, to introduce lubricant into the live air stream passing to the tool and devices for this purpose are termed air-line oilers. Y

The present invention is applied to an air-line oiler of the type comprising in combination a lubricant reservoir which discharges its contents gradually into an airway through one or more communicating orifices, means to introduce live air into the lubricant reservoir at substantially the pressure of the live'- air in the airway when the oiler? is inv operation, and a valve which controls communication between the lubricant reservoir and the airway and' is lifted off its seat by air pressure in the airway toA permit lubricant topass thereinto from the lubricant reservoir.

According to the present invention an air-line oiler'of this type (referred to hereinafter inthe appendedclaims as an air-line oiler of the type described) has in combination a Valve passage which communicates between and is open at its opposite ends respectively to the airway and to the lubricant reservoir and has a valve seat therein, and a valve in the passage which substantially llsthe cross-section thereof'and is of such form and is so provided that when the air supply to the airway is shut oiit is pressed on to its seat solely by pressure in thelubricant reservoir applied tothat face of the valve open to the said lubricant reservoir.

By this means, when the supply of live air to the airway is cut off, the air entrapped under pressure Within the reservoir will seat the valve and leakage of lubricant into the airway `will therefore be prevented during idle periods of the machine or tool with which the oiler is being used. v

y Preferably the ow of lubricant from the lubricant reservoir is controlled by means of a porous or absorbent element or plug contained in the Valve passage and in a preferred example such Vplug c'onstitutesthe body Yof the valve itself or is operatively connected with the valve so that the, two are movable together.

11n. order that the invention may be K more clearly understood a preferred construction will now be described in detail with the aid of Ythe accompanying.: drawing, in Which:-

" Figure 1 is a central section throughthe (crisi-'55) oiler in aA plane `containing the throughway axis of the airway, and t Figure 2 is a part section on ther line 2--2 of Figure 1 and a part elevation looking' in the direction of thearrows. r

Like'reference numerals indicate "like yparts in both iigures of the drawing.

VThe oiler is constituted by a casting'of mainly Vtubular form comprising an inner wall I0 and an outer wall I I, both these walls Vbeing of. cylindrical form and coaxial with the airway. The inner wall i@ constitutes a tubular 'airway section which comprises part of the airway through which live air is conducted. to the tool. At both ends there are screwthreaded portions I2 to serve as couplings for the hose pipe through which live air is conveyed to the tool.. One section of pipe leads from the source of compressed airy to one of the screwthreaded ,portions I2, and another section of pipe leads from the other screwthreaded portion I2 to the tool.

Between the inner and outer wallspIO yand II there is vprovided a'chamber VI3` constituting the lubricant reservoirk above referred to.` In the inner wall I0 there are formed two diametrically opposedV apertures I4, the walls iofwhich are screwthreaded to receive in eachV a; chambered plug I5. In the outer AWall II. of the lubricantres'ervoir*there areV two other apertures I6 coaXially arranged with respect to the apertures I4. Plugs I'I having screwthreaded engagement with the Walls of the aperturesrll serve as closure plugs for "those apertures.' One of the orifices I6 may serve as a lling aperture through which lubricant is` charged into the lubricant-reservoir and this laperture is conveniently the upper one illustrated in the draw'- ing. By removing the plugs access" may*l be had to the chambered plugs l5 kand these chamberedV plugs can beinserted into position or withdrawntherefrom' through the apertures, I6.

,Each chambered plug I5 comprises ametal tube having va nipple I8 screwthreaded into that end which projects into the air-way. Theorice 23 through the'nipple is of such a'size as to control the passage of lubricant. through it into the air-way at the desired rate. The inner end of4 the nippleV is formed with a reduced portion I9, the end*r of which constitutes a lvalve seat and-'behind the nipple, within the chambered plug, is a piston like wad 20 of A'absorbent materialfacedfwith aleatherwasher 2|. Each compositewad20, .2| constitutes a valve,.the leather face of which is capable of seating on the valve seat of its associated nipple to close the passage through the latter.

The leather washer 2l for each plug is of smaller diameter than that of the absorbent material of the plug and the composite plug is movable bodily endwise within the chambered plug.

The end of each chambered plug opposite to that in which the nipple is situated is Vformed with an orice 22 through which lubricant can, The nippleY enter from the lubricant-chamber. is, as before stated, removably secured, by means of a screwthreaded engagement, within the end of the chambered plug andv when itis removed the composite plug can be inserted into position through the end in which the removable nipple will subsequently be inserted.

If desired, a compression spring (not shown) may Ibe disposed between the plug and the shoulder formed at the junction between the reduced portion I9 and the body of the nipple I8 so as to assist in lifting the composite plug or valve 'from the seat when air pressure in the through- Wayapproximates that in the reservoir.

In operation air under pressure passing through .the air-way (i. e. the inner passage through the oiler terminating in the screwthreaded ends I2) will also pass through the ori- .fices in the nipples vto lift the composite plugs or valves from their seats to open the nipple orifices 23. As the diameter of each leather washer 2| is less than that of its plug 20, air can pass through the absorbent material of the plugs. and the orifices 22 into the lubricantreservoir andthus soon after admission of live air tothe air-way the pressure in the reservoir Will approximate that in the air-way. Owing to .the reciprocating action of a rock-drill or similar tool, air pulsations will be set up in the .air-way and these pulsations inducea flow of lubricant in small quantities from the absorbent plugs 20 through the nipples. Thus, the air in its passage through .the airwaypicks up a quantity `of lubricant andthis quantity can be adjusted to requirements by predetermination of the. cross-sectional area of the nipple orifices. The airthus lubricated passes ,to the tool that is to be operated.

When, however, the air supply is cut off from the air-way pressure therein immediately drops and will be reduced considerably below the pressure at that moment existing in the lubricant-chamber. Consequently, pressure on the plugs will force them inwardly into the plug-chambers to seat their washers or valves 2| on to the nipple seatings and thereby all leakage of lubricant vinto the air-way'will be at once arrested.

It will, therefore, be seen that during the non-operating periods of the tool the valves constituted by the composite plugs will act eiii- 'ciently to prevent any leakage from the lubricant-reservoir into the air-way and, therefore, when the tool is next started up there will be no surplus lubricant in the air-way to be carried to Vthe tool.

Air-line cilers hitherto have generally suffered from the drawback that in the non-operative periods of the tools with which they are associatedY leakage ofk lubricantl into the air-way occurs and'on resumption of operations undesirable quantities of lubricant are carried along with the first rush of air into the tool, thereby resulting in over-lubrication. and a waste of lubricant. Not lonlv is this Iwastage objectionable on the ground of expense, but it is also objectionable on the ground that the lubricantreservoir is emptied more rapidly than need be, thus necessitating more frequent refilling than will be the case with the present oiler. By preventing leakage of oil into the air-way the wastage is obviated and a single charge of lubricant into the vreservoir will last for a longer period than when noimeasures are taken `rto prevent the leakage.

The invention is not limited to the particular form oufA Valve described as a metal to metal valve may be employed andas further alternative the valve may be entirely separate from the plug Vwith means such as a spring control to lift it from its seat when the plug is moved outwardly. The plug; however, in this case would still be the medium by which the valve would be seated when the supply of air is cut off from the airway.

Furthermore, thev invention is not limited to the use of a plug of absorbent material or to the use of a plug at all.

Where reference is made herein to airY as the fluid medium with which the lubrcator is to operate it is to be understood that this term is used to denote a typical uid medium for operating machine tools, but the term air is to be understood to mean and to include, where the context permits, `any other fluid driving medium, such, for example as steam.

Although only one aperture such as 22 has been shown in each plug-chamber it will be understood that more than one such aperture may be provided.

I claim: l

1. An air-line oiler comprising in combination a lubricant-reservoir, an airway, a valve passage communicating between and opening at its opposite ends vrespectively to the airway and the lubricant-reservoir, a valve seat in the said passage and a valve in the passage arranged to be seated solely'by pressure remaining in the reservoir when air supply to the airway is cut off, and thereby to arrest further ow of lubricant from the lubricant reservoir.

2. An air-line oiler according to claim l in which the valveis of such dimensions as substantially to 'fill the cross-section of the passage.

3. An air-line oiler according to claim 1 in which the valve comprises a porous plug through which lubricant passes from the reservoir to the airway. v

4. An air-line oiler according to claim 1 in which the valve is operatively connected with a porous plug through which lubricant passes from the reservoir to the airway.

5. An air-line oiler according to claim 1 in which the valve comprises a porous plug faced with non-porous material to constitute a seating valve face. y

6. An air-line oiler according to claim 1 in which the valve is operatively connected with a porous plug through which lubricant passes from the reservoir tothe airway and in which the plug is faced with non-porous material to constitute a seating valve face.

V'7.V An air-line oiler according to claim 1 having the valve chamber detachably secured in Vposi/tion, an orice in a ,surrounding wall of the airway into which the valvel chamber is insertable into position, an outlet from the valve chamber for the discharge of lubricant into the airway land an orice in/the valve chamber to admit lubricant from the reservoir to that side of the valve remote from the outlet.

8. An air-line oiler according to claim 1 having a valve chamber detachably secured in position, an orifice in a surrounding wall of the airway into which the valve chamber is insertable into position, an outlet from the valve chamber for the discharge of lubricant into the airway, an orifice in the valve chamber to admit lubricant from the reservoir to that side of the valve remote from the outlet, and a Avalve structure comprising a porous element and so situated within the valve chamber that lubricant will pass into and through the porous material before reaching the outlet.

9. For an air-line oiler, the combination of a valve chamber formed to be detachably secured within a wall of an airway, means for securing it therein, an outlet Vfrom the valve chamber to communicate with the airway when the chamber is in position, a valve Within the valve chamber to co-operate with the outlet and an inlet orifice in the valve chamber opening to that side of the valve remote from the outlet.

10. For an air-line oiler, the combination of a valve chamber formed to be detachably secured within a wall of an airway, means for securing it therein, an outlet from the valve chamber to communicate with the airway when the chamber is in position, a valve within the valve chamber to co-operate with the outlet and an inlet orifice in the valve chamber opening to that side of the valve remote from the outlet, the said valve being composed at least in part of porous material. p

11. For an air-line oiler, a unit assembly comprising a valve chamber, means associated therewith whereby it may be detachably secured within a wall of an airway, a valve member and a porous plug located in the valve chamber, an outlet from the valve chamber which, when the chamber is in' position in the airway, will serve to lead from the valve chamber into the airway, and an inlet in the valve chamber, the said inlet and outlet being situated on opposite sides of the valve.

12. An air-line oiler having in combination an element comprising a central throughway to constitute part of an air-line, a surrounding annular jacket affording a lubricant-reservoir, coaxially situated orifices in the walls of the throughway and of `the surrounding jacket, a

tubular valve chamber inserted in the orice in the wall of the throughway by entry through the coaxial orifice in the jacket, a valve comprising a porous plug within the valve chamber, an outlet at that end of the'valve chamber which opens into the throughway, an inlet at the opposite end of the valve chamber communicating with the jacket space, and a closure plug for the orifice in the jacket, the said. valve being arranged to seat on the outlet solely by air pressure within the reservoir when air that has been supplied through the lthroughway is cut off.

13.'An air-line oiler having in combination an element comprising a central throughway to constitute part of an air-line, a surrounding annular jacket affording a lubricant-reservoir, a plurality of pairs of coaxially situated orifices in the walls of the throughway and of the surrounding jacket, tubular valve chambers one inserted in eachk orifice in the wall of the rthroughway by entry through a coaxial orifice in the jacket, a valvev comprising a porous plug within each valve chamber, an outlet at that end of each Vvalve chamber which opens into the throughway and an inlet at the opposite end of each Valve chamber communicating with the jacket space, and a closure plug for each orifice in the jacket, each said valve being arranged to seat on its co-operating outlet solely by air pressure within the reservoir when air that has been supplied through the throughway is cut off.

14. An air-line oiler having in combination an element comprising a central throughwayy to constitute part ofan air-line, a surrounding annular jacket. affording the lubricant-reservoir, coaxially situated orifices in the walls of the throughway and of the surrounding jacket, a tubular valve chamberinserted in the orifice in the wall of the throughway by entry through the coaxialY orifice in the jacket, a valve comprising a porous plug within the valve chamber, an outlet at that end of the valve chamber which opens into the throughwaj/,a nipple secured within the outlet and affording a valve seat, an inlet at the opposite end of the valve chamber communicating with the jacket space, I

and a closure plug for the orifice in the jacket, the said valve being arranged to seat on the outlet solely by air pressure within the reservoir when air that has been supplied through the throughway is cutoff. y

15. An air-line oiler having in combination an element comprising a central throughway to constitute part of an air-line, a surrounding annular jacket affording a lubricant-reservoir, a plurality of pairs of coaxially situated orifices in the walls of the throughway and of the surrounding jacket, a plurality of tubular valve chambers inserted one in each orifice in the wall of the throughway by entry through the coaxial orifice in the jacket, a valve comprising a-porous plug within each valve chamber, an outlet at that end of each valve chamber vwhich opens into the throughway, a nipple secured within each outlet and affording a valve seat, an inlet at the oppositeV end of each Valve chamber communicating with the jacket space, and a closure plug for each orifice in the jacket, each said valve arranged to seat on'its associated outlet solely by air pressure within the. reservoir when air that has been supplied to the throughway is cut off.

JOHN BLISS. 

